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To muddy the waters still more…
I just found this on Bunpro… たところ - just finished doing
I picked up the book and asked the resident expert… “this work here… ところ…” before I could finish the sentence she said “when”.
@Leebo, I reckon your first answer was the correct one all along!
Well… if you throw out enough explanations, one will be right I guess…
Well, your first one was! Thank you again so much! I’ve learnt so much from this thread today thanks to you and emucat! Thank you!
Page 94:
くらし
Life
「手紙」って 書くと 中国では トイレットペーパを さすんだって！
I’m really really lost with this phrase. って seems it should be the casual topic market, then 書く is a verb, what is と doing next to it? It doesn’t look like a quotation mark, and a if/when… I don’t see it… then さす at the end has so many meanings that I don’t know what’s going on.
When to write “paper” in China, toilet paper “something” as well!
今は 電話や メールなどを つかって、いつでも 気がるに れんらくが とりあえる 時代です。
Now is the era to use the phone and messages and so, and to contact freely at anytime right away I need help to とりあえる. I took it as とりあえず。。
手書きの 手紙は、気もちが こもって いて、もらうと うれしいものです。
It’s even pleasant, filed with emotions, when you receive a handwritten paper.
No idea about いて. Maybe that’s why the translation looks so weird…
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I had a quick look ahead at the new chapter yesterday. I thought the title translated as:
When writing “手紙” in China, I hear it indicates toilet paper!
(And that is my JLPTN5 certified answer…)
I may be incorrect, please tell me if I am
I think って is casual と quatation particle. と after 書く may be the conditional と, so it would mean “if”. I have no idea what the verb in the end is though…
Edit: chinese wiki says that 手紙 is indeed toilet paper 衛生紙 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书
It’s さす plus んだ plus って (quotative)
This is a typo, it should be 時代（じだい）.
Also, there is でも、at the beginning of the next sentence:
でも、手書きの手紙。。。
Oh, thanks! I didn’t catch って at all. Jisho tells that さす means a lot of things, it’s “to indicate” then, I guess? According to their example:
The sign ‘&’ stands for ‘and’.
I think this is the potential form of 取り合う
Fixed!
I still have the feeling that sentence 2 and 3 are very wrong
I was going to “writing” instead of “to write” but I din’t see the T form here or at the end of the sentence… I guess with と you don’t use it…
I don’t think the verb form you choose for your English translation makes much difference here.
I could say:
I heard that if you write “手紙” in China it means toilet paper!
and it would mean the same thing.
Hand paper, if anything, it makes more sense as toilet paper than letter 
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Here’s my breakdown of sentence 2:
今は - speaking of now
電話や メールなどを - things like phone and email plus を
つかって - 使う(to use) in て form
いつでも - always
気がるに - freely
れんらくが - contacting plus が
とりあえる - 取り合う(to respond) in potential form - able to respond
時代 - period, era
です - polite sentence ender
Now, using things like phones and email, {(always freely contacting)able to respond} era is.
Now is an era when we are always able to freely communicate , using things like phones and email.
Think I would go for いて as being いる in the て form to connect it to the next predicate,
And うれしいものです as being うれしい もの です.
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しかし、もし あなたが 中国の 人と 手紙を やりとりすると したら、気を つけなければ ならない ことが あります。
However, if you exchange letters with a Chinese person you must be careful sometimes.
中国では、「手紙」と 書くと それは トイレットペーパーの ことを さすのです。
In China, if you write「手紙」“letter” it means (indicates) Toilet Paper
PS: I talked to a Chinese friend yesterday and mentioned that, and she said it’s true, but they actually use another word for Toilet Paper, something like Sanitary paper
EDIT: About したら. Why do we need so many conditionals?? もし, すると, したら…
ARGHSSSS!! And I knew if from Wanikani!! And I think it was also in one of the first posts of this book!
Let me Edit my post, and nobody will ever know
Yeah, it’s weird! This sentence with the するとしたら was pretty confusing. Tae Kim section 5.11.2 helped me understand a bit better. I think this is what’s going on, but please correct me if I’m wrong:
やりとりする doing an exchange of letters/corresponding
やりとりする とする (+hypothesis) supposing you’re exchanging letters
やりとりする としたら (conditional) if we’re supposing that you are going to exchange letters
もし。。。やりとりする としたら if we’re assuming that you correspond by any chance (! wow, so tentative! I guess the author doesn’t really expect these kids to ever have a Chinese penpal…)
I like it!! And if makes so much sense.
The other conditional with the negative I have translated as “must do”, but I haven’t check if that’s correct